Tangewala colony residents rebuilding houses at same spots where floods wreaked havoc

Six Tangewala colony residents died in a wall-collapse incident, while two others drowned in the floods

PUNE Ninety days after flash floods in Sahakarnagar destroyed Tangewala colony - 40 lower-income dwellings on the banks of the Ambil odha (stream) - and claimed claimed eight lives from among its residents, survivors are back and building again; in the exact spots where the overflowing waters of the stream, on the back of heavy rainfall, wreaked havoc on September25-26.

A Tangewala colony resident at work on his house which was destroyed in the floods. (HT Photo)

Six Tangewala colony residents died in a wall-collapse incident, while two others drowned in the floods.

Yet, as the rains seem poised to ease, the impact of two cyclones on a delayed withdrawal notwithstanding, residents of Tangewala have returned to rebuild their homes.

“There are 70 houses comprising at least 200 residents in our colony. Almost everyone is still living at a friend’s or family member’s house. Some of us are living in a hall given by the PMC, but how long can we stay like this? Most of us have now started repairing and rebuilding of our damaged houses,” says Chandan Bhondekar, a resident who is rebuilding his home.

“A group of residents went to meet the PMC officials about our rehabilitation and we were given an option to go to a slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) project in Hadapsar. But, none of us want to go there as everyone has their work, jobs and belongings here in Sahakarnagar,” Bhondekar said.

Kusum Shinde, another resident, is busy cleaning and clearing debris of what was once her home. She said: “Our entire house was damaged in the floods and nothing was left, so we have to rebuid it completely. The total expense is Rs 1.5 lakh and we fear that if heavy rains come again, our colony will flood once more.”

“We do not want to go anywhere else. If the government authorities really want to do something for us, then they should construct a new building for us at the same site here,” Shinde adds.

Naval Kishore Ram, Pune’s district collector, said, “We are working on the rehabilitation of flood-affected area residents in the city and we are in talks with the PMC. It’s our priority that the residents are rehabilitated to some other place, but if they do not want to go then we need to think about it; and accordingly work on their rehabilitation.”